Carson Brière, the son of Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Brière, will enter a Pennsylvania program for first-time offenders after being charged for pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase.
Police in Erie, Pa., filed charges of criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit mischief and disorderly conduct against the son of the retired Gatineau, Que., NHL star in March 2023.
Earlier that month, Carson Brière was seen on a surveillance video at the top of a staircase of a local bar, alongside another Mercyhurst University athlete, pushing the wheelchair down the steps.
He was dismissed from his team the following month.
I know very little about this situation, but 15 months of rehab and dismissal from a team for pushing an empty wheelchair down stairs? That seems pretty intense to me…
There’s a story behind it … Source
This trail of consequences for Briere began on March 11, when he was caught on surveillance camera walking up to the entryway of a dance floor at Sullivan’s Pub in Erie with three other people before sitting down in an empty wheelchair. The footage shows Briere trying to maneuver around before he gets up and shoves the chair down the stairs. The wheelchair flips over and the seat cushion comes off during the descent.
Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a hazardous condition by blocking the staircase.
The wheelchair’s owner, Sydney Benes, 22, filed a complaint after the incident, listing all the ways her chair had been damaged. Benes is a double amputee who lost her foot and leg in a fire after her car crashed in 2021. To be mobile, she said, she needs the chair while she learns to use her prosthetics.
Benes wrote in the complaint that the chair’s fall down the stairs damaged the left brake handle, broke the right armrest’s plastic moulding, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when moving forward. She added that the wheelchair was purchased a year ago for US$2,000.
Benes’ chair was left alone in the stairwell that night because she was using the restroom at the bottom of the stairs. Sullivan’s Pub was built before accessible design requirements were enacted, so her friend would "personally physically carry her down the stairs any time she has to use the restroom.”
Carson Briere previously was dismissed from Arizona State’s hockey club in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules, the Associated Press reported.
Ahh, for whatever reason I had assumed it was one of those wheelchairs you see in hospitals and the like that are fold-up and kinda just sit in the corner. Hadn’t thought it was actually somebody’s chair. Much more understandable now, especially considering it ruined the chair. Thank you for context!
All good. :)
